A Handful of Interesting Archery Photos

December 31st 2017.

The following archery photos were taken in 2017:

Careful you don't poke your eyeball out.

Distracting, but on the plus side she gets to see how good her form is.

Who doesn't like pink fletching?

Always nice to see an arrow caught by a camera midshot.

So some of the photos below are not from 2017, but some of them are. The first one below for example is actually a mixture of both 2017 and a photo from 1936.

Berlin Olympic Games 1936 vs 2017 Hyundai Archery World Cup also in Berlin.

This guy needs a horse for his horsebow, but will have to make do.

Just some bows chilling on a rack at the Toronto Archery Range.

Happy Halloween!

That is a pretty nice collection of bows.

Some of my personal collection of bows.

This gal has a horse, and she decides to up her game even further.

A local Toronto archer readies her shot. Photo by Simon Lam.

Another poor guy who wishes he had a horse.
 Well this was fun. Hope everyone had a great 2017 and have an even better 2018! :)

Technically not archery, but I included this because it is funny.

5 Effective Women’s Body Shaping Exercises You Can Do Today

Guest Post by Melissa Lobo, December 2017.

There are so many ways to stay in shape especially if you exercise daily or take breast enhance pills. However, with the holidays just around the corner, it’s a whole lot harder to keep that unwanted weight at bay. The best thing you can do to keep things in hand is to maintain a daily routine of exercises. Once it becomes second nature to you--just as habits are wont to be--it will not be too difficult to stay in shape. Here are 5 effective women’s body shaping exercises you can do today.

An Easier Way to do Push Ups
Push Ups
This classic is a terrific all-around exercise that will keep your body firm in all the right places. It burns up calories faster, too, so doing a couple of sets each day will help you lose that unwanted weight. Chest muscles are the main target of this particular exercise, so doing a 3 sets of 15 push ups each day plus taking breast enhance pills will make you look extra fit in a bikini in no time at all. Steadily increase the number of push ups to a maximum of 30 once you get the hang of it. Here is the right way to do your push ups:
  • Palms flat on the floor.
  • Hands should be spread apart slightly wider than the shoulders for better balance.
  • Keep feet close together.
  • Raise your body by fully extending your arms. Then, lower your body until your chest is as near as possible to the floor.
  • Get your strength from your core.


Basic Yoga Poses
It comes as no surprise that some yoga poses have made it to the list of the5 most effective women’s body shaping exercises you can do today. This is because the nature of this exercise provides holistic wellness. While it keeps your body in shape, the meditation that comes with executing the poses is also healthy for the soul. Some of the poses that you can do include the following:
  • To keep the body firm, you can do the downward dog. It stretches the entire body even as it relieves the stress and tension of joints and tendons.
  • For an excellent abdominal workout, do the plank. You should hold this position for about 10 to 15 seconds. You can also do the side plank. As the name suggests, you basically do the plank literally on your side. Your weight is supported by your core and you lift up your body by propping up your left elbow and forearm. You have to hold this pose for about 30 seconds.
  • For firmer legs, do the tree. Rest your right foot on the opposite upper thigh. After about 15 seconds, do the same with your left foot connecting with the right upper thigh. Your hands should be in a prayer position all throughout these poses.
  • For more shapely hips and thighs and to build strength in your core, you can do the warrior pose. You basically do a “backward lunge” balancing your weight on both legs. This pose targets legs, buttocks, core, hips, and the torso.
  • For better-shaped quadriceps, kneecaps, and abdominals, go for the mountain pose. This is the best way to begin your daily exercise routine. You basically hold a standing position while activating your core. Breathe deeply and steadily 10 times before doing other exercises.
  • The bridge is also a great exercise to do to shape your rear. Keep your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor while lying down face up. Raise your hips to form a straight line from shoulders to knees. Pause for about ten seconds before lowering your body.
Downward Dog to Forward Lunge


Deadlift
This is a great toning exercise that strengthens the back, too. Here is how you do it:
  • Prepare dumbbells.
  • Stand on your left foot.
  • Bend forward and lower your body while holding the dumbbells.
  • Go as low as possible.
  • Get your strength from your core.


Cardio Exercises
Of course, no exercise routine would be complete without a complete cardio workout. Cardio exercises are essential to the body-- which is why cardio moves are among the 5 most effective women’s body shaping exercises you can do today. Suggested cardio exercises include:
  • Jogging
  • Jump Rope
  • Biking
  • Swimming
  • Using cardio equipment such as elliptical or treadmill
You can mix this up and schedule it to fit into your daily exercise routine. Time yourself so you can either maintain or increase the duration of these exercises. Usually, five to ten minutes would do the trick. Swimming can take a lot longer so you have to make certain scheduling adjustments as well.

When it comes to doing jogging, walking, jump rope, or users of cardio equipment, there is a basic scheduling that you can follow. You can do five minutes of continuous exercise. You can increase your effort to about 75 percent. At the 10 second mark, you give it all that you have by exerting 100 percent maximum effort.

Step Ups
Yet another classic exercise, step-ups target your legs, feet, and core. What you do is somewhat similar to climbing the stairs. The only difference is that you do it differently with only one step to mount on and go down from. You do this in a repetitive cycle of about three sets of 15 to 20 step-ups each.



Put them all together
Now that you know 5 effective women’s body shaping exercises you can do today, all you have to do is to design your own daily exercise routine with some breast enhance pills on the side. Know what your trouble zones are, and focus on them. For beginners, you can do 3 sets of each type of exercise, with 10 reps each time.

This does not apply to yoga poses, however. For yoga beginners, we advise you try and reach 20 seconds before going back to the starting position. Also essential is fitting in--at the very least--ten minutes of cardio fitness. Once you have designed your plan, you are basically good to go.

Never too late
It is never too late to get that shape that you have been dreaming of. Consult health and fitness professionals or dieticians on how to better refine your daily exercise routine. Check out what breast enhance pills will be most effective for you. Once you have a routine that works for you, stick to it, and you will be sure to have a healthy and trim body in no time.



Melissa Lobo Bio

Melissa is a young and energetic writer, a mom to a sweet little boy, and a fur-mom to two perfect pooches. Before becoming the Associate Content Director for Project Female, she was a journalist specializing in topics related to women in politics and policy affecting women.

Happy Yuletide Season from Cardio Trek

Happy Yuletide Season!

Okay, so fun fact - the 12 Days of Christmas is actually originally the 12 Days of Yuletide, a tradition that dates back to the Vikings, Scandinavian and Germanic peoples of northern Europe.

Old Norse Calendar
"Yule" (or Ylir) is the Old Norse word for the month of December.

During the Yuletide Season, the great god Odin would visit the homes of the people while riding his eight-legged horse Sleipnir, and bring them presents. He would sneak into their homes via their chimney. Historically it was celebrated in Scandinavian, Germanic, and regions conquered by Vikings / Anglo-Saxons.

Later the Christians in Denmark would co-opt the tradition and changed the names. The modern "Santa Claus" myth actually originates from Danish Christians living in New York... and if you are interested in all this you can research it, I am not going to go into the details.

Santa Claus = Odin
Eight Reindeer = Eight-legged horse Sleipnir
Elves... well, that one is easy. It is based on Norse myths of elves.

Yada yada yada.

Odin riding his eight-legged horse Sleipnir
Merry Christmas and the So-Called "War on Christmas"

So I have never liked the phrase Merry Christmas. Not even when I was a kid. I like having more variety. I sometimes say it, but I mix it up by saying other things like:

Happy Yuletide!
Happy Holidays!
Happy Winter Solstice! (December 21st)
Happy Hanukkah (which this year started on December 12th and ended December 20th)!
Happy Kwanzaa! (December 26th to January 1st)
Mele Kalikimaka! (* I will come back to this later at the bottom. *)

I might even jokingly say "Humbug!" to people in my best impersonation of Ebenezer Scrooge. That always gets a laugh.

Okay, so Hanukkah is tricky because unless you are familiar with the Hebrew Calendar you might not know WHEN exactly it is. It starts in the evening on 25th of Kislev and lasts for 8 days, but since the corresponding Roman calendar doesn't line up, the dates end up being different every year.

2018:   December 2-10
2019:   December 22-30
2020:   December 10-18

Kwanzaa is also tricky because technically you're not supposed to say "Happy Kwanzaa!", but there is nothing stopping you. What you are supposed to say is "Habari gani?" and the other person is supposed to respond with a different answer depending on which day of the Seven Days of Kwanzaa it is. So for people who don't celebrate Kwanzaa, easier to just say Happy Kwanzaa to those people who also say it to you.

Okay...

So why are these greetings even an issue?

Well, because the Holiday Season (which includes Christmas) is now being used as a political boxing glove to hit opponents. Certain people (including the more recent American president) have been arguing that people should be forced to say Merry Christmas, even if they do not celebrate Christmas, or if they have chosen to go with a less politically charged way of saying it.

Saying Merry Christmas these days actually is seen as trying to force one's religious beliefs unto the other person. The big fuss that politicians have made about the phrase "Merry Christmas" is actually making it worse too. It is those kinds of people who have "declared war on Christmas". They are the ones making it worse by using Merry Christmas as a political boxing glove.

So where does that leave companies and corporations, including small time companies like Cardio Trek?

Well, I have to ask myself what phrases do I want to use when conducting official correspondence to my audience of potential clients.

Do I use Merry Christmas? Sometimes. Especially if it is actually Christmas Day.

But other times I use Happy Holidays, Happy Yuletide, etc.

If someone says Happy Hanukkah or Happy Kwanzaa to me, I will say it back to them. Not because I am being forced to, but because I feel it is more polite.

I do the same thing when I speak other languages. If I want to make it clear I am thankful I tend to gravitate to the more formal ways of saying thank you. eg. In Korean there are many ways to say thank you, but if I want to make it clear that I am really thankful - I use the formal polite traditional way of saying it, which would be 구맙 습니 다.

Why??? Because I prefer to be polite when speaking to people and to me, the formal polite traditional way of something is ultimately more polite.

So Merry Christmas is a traditional way of speaking.

But honestly so is Happy Holidays... which dates back to the 1860s and earlier.

And if we want to get technical, the Yuletide is even older and more traditional. It predates modern Christmas celebrations.

Coupled with this is that the Moffat family is from Scotland and we can trace their line back to Vikings who settled in Scotland. So to me, anything to do with Vikings is basically a matter of familial ancestry.

My mother's side of the family is from what would have been the north coast of Prussia, south-east of Denmark. So it is not a stretch to say there is probably some connections to Viking ancestry there too.

So I am at least doubly inclined towards "Happy Yuletide".

As someone who is not a Christian but still uses Merry Christmas once in awhile I find the whole "War on Christmas" idea to be idiotic. It really only matters to the people who worry about such things.

I don't care about such triviality. I greet people in a manner which is polite, that is what is more important to me.

Which is more important to you?

People who say Merry Christmas, but are jerks about it.
People who behave politely and use whatever greetings they feel work in that situation.

Honestly, I would rather go with the polite way of doing it.

This all reminds of the Hawaiian way... Mele Kalikimaka!

Now that is a fun way to greet people during the Holiday Season. For those who don't know, here are the lyrics.

(Stanza x 1)
Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright Hawaiian Christmas day
That's the island greeting that we send to you
From the land where palm trees sway
Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright
The sun will shine by day and all the stars at night
Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way to say Merry Christmas to you

(Chorus x 3)
Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright Hawaiian Christmas day
That's the island greeting that we send to you
From the land where palm trees sway

(Repeat Stanza x 1)

So it is kind of like you are saying Merry Christmas, but you are not.

And if people ask what is Mele Kalikimaka, then it is your chance to spring into song. ;)

And if people get the reference to the film National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation... then so be it. It works.

Happy Yuletide!
Charles Moffat and Family
CardioTrek.ca

No Winter Archery This Year, Winter 2017-18

Hello Would-Be Archery Students in Toronto!

I will not be teaching archery this winter, but I will be resuming teaching archery lessons (weekends only) in March 2018.

Anyone wishing to have archery lessons in 2018 should prebook now as availability may be limited.